News

Police had spoken to M61 crash victim

A 68-YEAR old man killed after he was hit by a lorry as he walked on the M61 motorway had been questioned by police less than an hour before his death.

Officers found Stephen Hayes in Blackrod and because his car was ‘undriveable’ dropped him off at Rivington Service Station close to where he died.

An investigation into Mr Hayes’ death has now been launched by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) Mr Hayes was killed when he was hit by the vehicle on the M61, just north of Rivington Services between junctions 6 and 8, at about 1.30am on April 11.

It has been revealed that Greater Manchester Police received a report at 12.30am that a car was being driven dangerously in Blackrod.

Details of the vehicle were circulated by the force and the car was found outside Blackrod Primary School in Manchester Road in a ‘damaged’ and ‘undriveable’ condition.

Mr Hayes was found near to the vehicle by a police officer.

A spokesman for GMP said: “He passed a road side breath test and was also checked on police computer systems. Due to his vehicle being damaged and undriveable and due to him being from out of the force area, an officer took him to the service station on the M61 so he could be collected by a family member.”

The spokesman added that the force was informed that a short time later Mr Hayes was involved in a collision on the motorway.

At the time of his death, the 68-year-old’s family described him as a ‘caring and loving dad who will be sadly missed by his daughters, son, grandson and friends’.

According to IPCC guidelines a case such as that of Mr Hayes’ would be referred to the watchdog to ensure police followed the correct procedure and ensured the person in question was in a healthy state of mind when the officer left him.

Mr Hayes was the second person to be killed on the M61 this year.

His death followed that of 30-year-old Gary Wood, from Blackburn, who was hit by a car as he travelled home on foot from a Tinie Tempah concert in Manchester on March 29.